June 17, 1908 - Cubs win, Road trip sucks
Cubs defeat the Phillies 3-2 in the midst of the road trip from hell
Yeah ... the Cubs won. We'll get to that in a second, but first it's worth mentioning that this was game eleven of a FIFTEEN GAME road trip! Good Lord!!!! At this point the Cubs have been on the road since June 4th, and don't make it back to the West Side Grounds until the 24th. So yeah ... TWENTY DAYS on the road!
The highest paid guy on the team, catcher Johnny Kling, made $4,500 that season. Now the average worker in 1908 made 22 cents an hour, so I'm sure Kling was very happy with his $4,500 a year, but I'm sure he still felt shafted having to go on the road for 20 freakin' days in a row.
BTW Kling is the first player in MLB history to set the record of 12 consecutive at bats with a hit, which he set in 1902 (and still stands today). Here's big baller Johnny Kling ..
Speaking of prices ... there was an ad in the Chicago Tribune on this day in 1908 for a Mandel Brothers hammock for 95 cents. Considering a Panama hat cost $5 and a nice suit was $20, I feel like that was a pretty damn good deal on a hammock. Sure it was about 5 hours work with your 22 cents an hour to buy your hammock, but 5 hours of work at Chipotle today ain't getting you enough to buy a nice hammock!
Anyway ... The Cubs threw one into the win column on this day in Philadelphia thanks to the pitching of Old Man Chick Fraser. And yes he was only 34, but he was the oldest guy on the team, so that makes him "Old Man Chick Fraser." Chick by the way is second all time for the most hit batsmen by a pitcher with 219 HBP. Something tells me Chick wouldn't hesitate to put one in your ear if you dared give him a Jose Bautista bat flip.
And looking at that picture, I think Chick would happily kick your ass if you talked smack in the bar after the game too. Ain't nobody messin' with Old Man Chick Fraser!
Anyway ... Chick scattered 5 hits in this game and managed to hold on for the 3-2 victory. And naturally since it was his thing, he hit one batter in this game. Up yours John Titus!
A two run rally in the 6th gave the Cubs a 3-1, thanks to an RBI triple from Harry Steinfeldt, who then scored on a Jimmy Slagle single. Old Man Chick Fraser (who would totally beat me up right now if he was still alive because I keep calling him that), worked out of a jam the next inning and held the Phillies to one run, which is where the score stayed for the rest of the game.
Good news ... Cubs win 3-2 to go to 31-17 on the year. Bad news ... Pittsburgh swept a doubleheader against the Boston Doves to actually gain a half game on the Cubbies and cut their deficit to two games. Doves ... who the heck fears a team named the Doves anyway?
Oh ... that and there's still four more games on the road trip that refuses to ever end! On to New York next to play the Giants!
